Aquifa: Modernising Water Trading in Australia

Australia leads the world in water trading, especially in regions like the Murray-Darling Basin, where water resources are scarce and vital for the agricultural sector. However, navigating the complex regulations and administrative burdens in water trading has become increasingly challenging for brokers. To address these challenges, Mayfly Ventures partnered with water industry Nick Johnston to launch Aquifa, a water trading management system aimed at simplifying compliance and data management while reducing administrative overhead.

Aquifa focuses on providing water brokers with the tools they need to stay compliant with state and federal regulations while streamlining their back-end processes. It’s designed to support brokers in Victoria, with plans to expand across the Murray-Darling Basin and eventually go global.

The Problem: Compliance and Complexity

The current water trading landscape is bogged down by complex regulatory requirements and administrative tasks. Brokers must manage extensive documentation, navigate compliance with government regulations, and handle large volumes of sensitive data. This creates inefficiencies that prevent brokers from focusing on their core task: servicing clients’ water needs. Aquifa was created to simplify this process.

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Turning complexity into an intuitive UX

Designing a Human-First, Secure Platform

After a successful partnership with Nick Johnston on Outclass, Mayfly teamed up Nick again to develop Aquifa. Through a series of collaborative workshops design to marry Nick’s industry expertise and Mayfly’s product strategy expertise, we design an intuitive user experience for Aquifa, despite the system's complexity. The platform is built to reduce the administrative burden on brokers by automating much of the paperwork and ensuring compliance with ever-changing water regulations.

Technology Stack:

• Front-End with Bubble.io: The use of Bubble.io provided a flexible, no-code front end for rapid iteration and user-centric design.
• Back-End with Xano: Xano offered the security and data privacy needed to handle sensitive water trade information, ensuring Aquifa is compliant with ISO 27701 and SOC2 Type II standards.

Aquifa, built in partnership with Mayfly Ventures, is leading the way in water trading management, offering brokers a simplified, secure, and scalable solution to handle the complexities of this vital industry.